Thursday, May 30, 2013

We've gotten to know Lovelife very well over the past couple years since they shore-ditched London and moved to Brooklyn to write the next great American tragedy. So we're over the moon to announce our next 7" release from the men in black, "Your New Beloved" / "Dying to Start Again", a double-trouble bundle of sinister pop that encompasses our most macabre daydreams and darkest nightvisions.

Lead single "Your New Beloved" is one of our absolute favorite songs of 2013 and sounds like electronic gospel from the distant future, as Lee Newell's yearning voice is filtered through a black-and-white vocoder over an industrial backdrop of dystopian synths. The flip, "Dying To Start Again", is a more upbeat, brass-laden number that brings your old flame back to life like a mood ring flickering between shades of grey.

The whole package drops on June 17th with preorder now available HERE. And if you happen to be in LA the week before, don't miss their massive Popshop West debut alongside Kate Boy and Bom Bom (tickets still available HERE) on June 10th.

Over the past few summers, Matte Projects' Full Moon parties have become something of an NYC summertime institution, and this year we're thrilled to be teaming up with them as they take on their biggest undertaking yet. Leaving behind their former home of Beekman's Beer Garden, they're taking things to the wide open spaces of Governors Island Beach, the perfect urban paradise for a Full Moon.

We're giving you a front row seat to a sunset over the Statue of Liberty and a moonrise over Lower Manhattan, and the perfect soundtrack to accompany it, with two stages of live music and DJs from 4pm-12am to coincide with the full moon on June 22nd. In addition to larger-than-life main stage sets from Miami Horror (making their triumphant return to NYC), Cyril Hahn, Tanlines, Yuksek and Wild Belle, we'll also be presenting a very special Neon Gold stage starring HAERTS, The Knocks, Little Daylight and more. And with pre-release $25 tickets (and $75 pre-release VIP tix) already sold out, you're going to want to move fast to get your $35 second release tickets HERE before it's too late, as this is sure to be one to remember.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

After smashing their remix debut out of the park for their bicoastal brothers Pacific Air last month, our prodigal sons Magic Man are back in the ring today to go toe-to-toe with The Colourist. The LA four-piece release their debut single proper through our bros-in-arms All Things Go next week and enlist Magic Man to flex their remix muscles on a carefree coastline rework of "Yes Yes", the agreeably glorious AA-side to their ATG 7". This time around, the vocal intro is peppered with shakers as it revs up with woozy dreamcatcher synths and exhilarating M83 space drops. When it all sinks in, it's a utopian journey down a futuristic highway and just another reminder of why Magic Man are one of the most exciting new talents around.

There's a new LA kid on the scene by the name of Jaymes Young, and the singer's dazzling debut single "Dark Star" shines like a solar eclipse or a blacklight chandelier, dark to its core yet radiating brilliance throughout. As the parallel synth rubs and post-dubstep bends burn a brilliant black into the cloud-littered sky, his ominous overtones wash over you as sticky-hot as hellfire. In a way, swaying along to Jaymes Young is kind of like moving to a new Neighbourhood, and we've got the exclusive download below to soundtrack your journey.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

When we last heard from our beloved superfriends Ellie Goulding and Xaphoon Jones, they were teaming up on a dazzling cover of The Weeknd's "High For This". Today they return with a sequel of sorts, as they collaborate on another cover in the form of a seductive ode to our favorite new band of last year, Alt-J. It's a soprano-blessed, soul-drenched, horn-laden triple threat of Neon Golden proportions that will tug at your heartstrings and make you weak in the knees. Exactly the kind of homecoming we needed after a larger than life Memorial Day weekend, welcome back to reality.

Friday, May 24, 2013

The newest members of our Neon Gold family, Magic Man, passed their first remix test with flying colors when they carried Pacific Air's "Lose My Mind" away on a cooling Atlantic breeze a few weeks back. Today the favor is returned in kind, as the Brothers Lawhon take the black and white French new wave of Magic Man's "Paris" and dunk it in vibrant modern tropics. It's the sound of a bicoastal love affair in glorious technicolor and the perfect kickstarter to your holiday weekend.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

With our June Popshop already quickly approaching sell out, it's time to keep this glorious summer of Popshop bliss rolling with the announcement of our July installment. Starting things off, everyone's favorite snowboard icon Shaun White makes his NYC live debut alongside Bad Things, who blew us away in their live debut at Popshop West last month. Then keeping things rolling we've got the ocean-sized stadium sounds of X Ambassadors up next, before local legends We Are Scientists close out the night in the headline slot. It's all going down at Santos Party House on July 11th at 9PM, with advance tix now available HERE. Do. Not. Sleep.

We have endless love for HAERTS here at Neon Gold, but of course you already knew that. It's hard to believe it's been over six months since the international collective first unveiled "Wings" (officially released last month on Neon Gold / Columbia), and the Brooklyn five piece have since soared to impossible heights on the back of that one debut single.

Today, they arrive at long last with their hotly-anticipated follow up in "All The Days", the first HAERTS demo that St. Lucia ever sent to us in late 2011 and the one that started this whole whirlwind love affair in the first place. As the vindictive bassline grooves its way into your heart, Nini's celestial voice captivates like a powerful hypnosis, while the iridescent keys shimmer like a hot-wired synesthesia of summer steam and stormy electrics. Already shining on the road as the rousing finale of their live set, it's quite possibly our favorite HAERTS track in existence, and it's with boundless excitement that we share it with you today.

On paper, Australian singer-songwriter Vance Joy isn't really our thing. But thank fuck we don't listen to music on paper, because Joy's debut single is one of the best things to happen to us all year. Hooking you from the get-go with its wistful opening strums and unwaveringly fatalist vocals, "Riptide" is a stunner from start to finish (those lyrics! that bridge! literally everything!). With shades of everything from Mumford & Sons to Eugene McGuinness and sure, probably the Lumineers too, it's a masterful debut with an even better video to accompany it, coming off like something straight from CANADA's oeuvre as envisaged through a Wes Anderson moodboard. Already smashing it in his native Australia, he's just been picked up by Atlantic in the states and hits our shores on tour with Lissie next month. Expect big things.STREAM: "Riptide" - Vance Joy

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

It's no secret Clare Maguire's had a tough go of it, but with her new material, it feels like she's finally making music on her own terms and for no one else but herself. Last month's Joni Mitchell cover of "The Last Time I Saw Richard" was a jaw-dropping thing of beauty, and today she returns with a new original demo "Changing Faces" that sounds like her very own "Hallelujah". Bright skies ahead.

We haven't heard the name Francis Farewell Starlite in a long minute, but yesterday Francis & The Lights returned to the scene with a comeback single so phenomenal it's like he never left. As the bedroom vocals of "ETC" snuggle up with the dreamy '80s instrumental, it sounds like Pharrell and Prince trading vocals over a meditative Radiohead backbeat. It's a three and a half minute swoon song aphrodisiac, and yet another reminder of why Francis is one of the most special talents this town has ever seen. Keep an eye out for his triumphant NYC live return, he's still one of the most gifted performers we've seen to date. This should be stop-the-presses headline news for anyone who's ever had the chance to see him tear up a stage.

With the dust only just settling on their monstrous debut single "Masters of the Sun", Kids of the Apocalypse return this week with a bone-crushing rework of the UK's best-and-brightest, London Grammar. Juxtaposing the youthful innocence of the original against a nefarious mindsweep of horn-riddled bravado and midnight angst, it's possibly the most grandiose track to grace our ears this year, like a funeral march into the future with Woodkid and Florence leading the parade. Epic is an understatement.

Thursday, May 16, 2013

This just in: Smallpools are about to take your whole summer over. Arriving on the scene like the perfect middle point between the sunny electronics of Foster The People and the solar-powered vocals of Fun, their debut single "Dreaming" offers synths straight out of Passion Pit's playbook and hooks that would make Dr. Luke jealous. "Dreaming" is alt radio gold with extreme crossover potential, the kind of song that only comes along a few times a year, and rarely on a debut single.

They're from LA because of course they are - songwriting like this doesn't occur naturally anywhere else - and are produced by none other than our dudes Captain Cuts, who we've been saying are only one hit away from global pop domination for about 18 months now. Well, all we can say is it looks like they found their hit. Catch Smallpools making their live debut on the Popshop West stage soon, more details to follow.

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

X Ambassadors should sound somewhat familiar, as we had some pretty nice things to say about their debut offering "Unconsolable" a while back, when we first predicted big things for the Brooklyn four piece a few summers ago. Now after emerging unscathed from a major label bidding war (hate to say we told you so) that took the better part of last year with a new name and new label, the X men look set to dominate the alt radio landscape in the months to come. And it all starts back where it all began, with a new supercharged version of "Unconsolable" that comes in hot with twice the restless severity of the original. You can stream the track below or cop a free download direct from Interscope HERE, and be sure to keep an eye out for them on a Popshop stage near you soon.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

The latest Scandinavian pop upstart to streak across our radar is Norway's Truls, and you're going to want to remember that name. On debut single "Out of Yourself", Truls introduces himself with cosmic star guitars and a heaven-on-earth falsetto that's honestly unlike anything we've ever heard. And best of all, THAT voice is coming out of THIS human. Amazing.

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

After two incredible singles and a very impressive NYC live debut at Popshop last week, Magic Man are coasting on some serious pop inertia at the moment. So now feels like as an exciting a time as any to make a very special announcement, as we welcome Magic Man to the Neon Gold / Columbia family as our latest album signing.

To celebrate the occasion, the band are today releasing a brand new demo EP - written, recorded and produced by the band themselves in their Fox Den studio in Providence - featuring established favorites "Paris" and "Texas", as well as their brand new globetrotting single, "Nova Scotia". Walking the line between the triumphant synths of Passion Pit and the stadium-sized hooks of The Killers, the Fox Den Demos offer an exciting introduction to New England's finest, as they head into the studio this summer to ready their debut album for release on Neon Gold in the new year. Download the EP in its entirety HERE and catch Magic Man on tour supporting MS MR later this month or this fall with Walk The Moon.

Monday, May 6, 2013

Hailing from both Sweden and Australia, Kate Boy are flourishing with the synth sensibilities of both climes and a groundswell of critical support the world over. Their first few singles have been nothing short of pristine, a bipolar fusion of ice cold synths and warm enveloping beats, and new single "The Way We Are" maintains the impossibly high standard they've established thus far. Its churning synths and concussive percussion reinforce the explosive teen-streaked vocals with the dark and stormy personality of Wednesday Addams fronting Icona Pop or The Knife, as the whole thing goes full Silent Shout in the finale.

We're bringing Kate Boy over for their debut US shows in NYC and LA next month, and with the band's Popshop Brooklyn show supporting HAIM already sold out (in 45 minutes no less), interested parties are going to want to lock in their NYC and LA tickets in posthaste.

Stop the presses, this is important. MS MR and CHVRCHES are already having banner years each in their own right, and today they come together on an empire-toppling remix that's one of our favorite things either has produced to date. The Scottish electras take "Hurricane" and dive headfirst into the eye of the storm, kicking up the tempo in a mess of gale force synths and taking things straight to South Beach circa 1980 on some serious Whitney Houston shit. This is the sound of all of our dreams coming true at once.

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

Marina & The Diamonds and Charli XCX are two of our favorite popstars/humans in the game, for now and forever. Our efforts to get them to join forces as a superduo (called Sister Sister, obvs) have been well documented, but we suppose for now this incredible new duet will have to do. Never ones to disappoint, "Just Desserts" is a delightful lovestep treat baked to absolute perfection, chock full of bubblegum braggadocio and sugar sweet nothings. The track finds Marina and Charli achieving levels of lady swagger never before seen in the wild, as both come correct over one of our favorite Marina demos of all time ("The Other Foot", where my superfans at), complementing each other perfectly in the process. High fives all around guys.